CHAPTER 14
I KNOW YOU LOVE HER
The cloaked figure observed the scene from safe distance. One of the Uruk Hai soldiers came to his side and asked.
"What are your orders my Lord?"
He pondered for a few moments before answering.
"Kill the King, along with all the soldiers. But bring me the Queen, I want her alive and as unharmed as you can; you see I wish to have a little fun with her before this is over."
The soldier smiled and nodded. "As you wish, my Lord."
…………………………………………………………………………………………
The southern army reunited with his general in Tirol that same night. They lifted up a new camp and prepared to march to the south the next day; Legolas intended to go even further into the wild territories and conquer everything on his reach.
But no, he wasn't Legolas anymore; his mind was completely under the control of the shadow of darkness. Now his eyes were empty, his actions and words were cruel, his voice had changed. Only one desire dominated him, the desire to conquer, to fight and submit everything on middle earth; he would start with the south, then he'll reunite a great army and he'll go back and conquer Gondor and then Rohan, and then he would sweep the entire land from border to border, submitting everything to his will.
No, Legolas couldn't be found anymore; he was a prisoner in his own body, his will was subjugated to another's and he couldn't fight or resist it now. Or at least that was what the cloaked figure thought, but fate would prove him wrong for he didn't know about the power of true love. Love bigger than any spell, bigger than any evil plot, bigger than his hate.
Yes, Legolas was a prisoner, his true will and soul were chained inside his body; but even there, inside the dark prison his new master had locked him in; even there where he was supposed to remain locked up for the rest of eternity; he heard a cry for help, he felt Arwen's call for him and he responded to it, he woke up.
Whatever was controlling him couldn't break the bond between him and his only true love, it was still strong inside the deepest fibers of his heart; and so he fought, and broke his chains, overcoming his jailer and his true soul and will surfaced again, taking control over his body and actions.
He had been sitting on a log sharpening a sword, surrounded by his soldiers; but at the moment the struggle began inside of him he suddenly stood up breathing hard and sweating.
"Arwen!"
He looked around confused and finally realized where he was. Then he felt Arwen's cry for help again, he felt her fear and despair. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated in her presence, trying to locate where she was. Finally he opened his eyes and talked to the soldiers around him.
"Come with me now!"
He took off running towards the horses, followed shortly after by 5 rangers.
"My Lord. Where are we going?"
"Just follow me!"
"But sir. What about the rest of the army?"
"I don't care about the army. Now stop talking and follow me!"
The group reached where the horses were and Legolas got on Antares; he whispered to the horse and he immediately launched at full gallop towards the north. The soldiers still followed him, not knowing were they were going to or why.
……………………………………………………………
Aragorn swung his sword again, cutting off a head; then he grabbed it with both hands and thrust into a chest. Only 8 soldiers were left fighting by his side; Arwen stood behind him holding on to a sword, but she wouldn't dare to get involved in such a fierce battle, not even if Aragorn would allow her. Right then all she could do was pray; pray for Aragorn to hold on and for a miracle to happen.
Aragorn fought with unnatural strength, due to the necessity to protect his Queen. He held on for hours, resisting every attack coming his way; but the enemies were many. After hours of fierce fight one of the dunlan's wolves got to close to him and since he was busy trying to block one of the Uruk hai's attacks he couldn't fight it back. The beast closed its jaws around Aragorn's left leg, tearing flesh and bone; Aragorn let out a loud cry of pain and thrust his sword in the beast's neck, killing it instantaneously. But the damage was done and Aragorn fell to the ground, still holding on to Narsil. Arwen cried out desperate and kneeled beside him.
"ESTEL!"
She tried to stop the bleeding but it was useless, the wound was to deep and the bones were broken. She held Aragorn's hand and kissed it trying to comfort him. But lying on the ground they were vulnerable; an Uruk Hai saw his opportunity and swung his curved sword towards the royal couple. But Aragorn pushed Arwen to one side and blocked the blow with his sword; then he pushed the creature back and picking up a short dagger he stuck it deep in his attacker foot, giving him some time.
"Run Arwen! Try to get away from here!"
"NO! Estel!"
"Go Arwen! Save yourself."
But she wouldn't leave him, she couldn't. She held her sword with both hands and charged at the Uruk Hai close to her husband; she succeded, and amazingly enough could kill one of them, but then two other held her from behind. Then her sword was taken and the Uruk Hai began dragging her towards the forest.
"ARWEN!"
Aragorn tried to stand up and help her, but his leg wouldn't let him and enemies were still attacking him.
"ESTEL!"
One of the Uruk Hai covered her mouth with his large and dirty hand, muffling her cries for help and nearly suffocating her with its foul stench; she kicked and struggled to brake free but it was useless, the soldiers were too strong; all she could do was concentrate in breathing through the suffocating pressure of the filthy hand on her face. They kept dragging her into the forest, towards where the cloaked figure awaited them.
Aragorn kept on fighting; mad rage dominated each and every one of his movements; but he could barely fight for his own survival he couldn't do anything to help Arwen.
When her captors finally reached their leader Arwen could feel the same fear she felt the night they found Legolas in the waterfall; it was the same presence, and she confirmed it when the cloaked figure began laughing; it was the same laughter she heard that night, the same laughter that made her run away on that fatidic night. But now she couldn't run, she couldn't escape.
Suddenly the cloaked figure jerked back and fell from the wolf, landing on the ground while screaming as if terrified by something only he could feel. And that was the case for at that moment he could feel Legolas in the distance, fighting back and breaking free from his dominance; he had lost control over him and now he could feel the enraged elf coming his way, he was coming to hunt him. Certainly this wasn't in any of his plans. The dark presence stood back up and with trembling voice began shouting orders to the Uruk Hai.
"We are leaving now! Back to the cave!"
"But my Lord, we haven't killed the King"
"I don't care about him, leave him to the hyenas!"
"What about the Queen?"
"Bring her. I shall pour my revenge on her"
And with that all the Uruk Hai got on the wolves and made their way deep into the forest, following their master and leaving behind the very wounded Aragorn.
Aragorn tried desperately to follow them but all his efforts were useless and only complicated his already delicate state. Ignoring the intense pain he crawled behind the fleeing horde and one of the Uruk Hai threw a javelin at him, which thrust one of his arms, pining him to the ground. He cried from the pain and from despair; he had lost her; he had lost his Queen.
He was now alone; only one soldier remained alive and was already in death agony. Aragorn grabbed the javelin stuck in his arm and pulled hard to brake free. The pain almost caused him to faint but he resisted and slowly crawled towards the agonizing soldier.
"Soldier stand up! You need to help me!"
But the soldier couldn't respond, he drew short, sharp and painful breathes and his mouth and nose were bleeding profusely.
"This is an order soldier! Don't die! Please don't die."
Aragorn grabbed the soldier and shook him, trying to bring him back to life; but the poor man was already death. Aragorn cried out in desperation and dismay, everything was lost to him, there was no hope left.
………………………………………………
Legolas pushed his horse to the very limits of his capacity. He and their group rode all night at full gallop. Knowing the territory so well was an advantage for them and they took a shortcut a little bit west from the road to Friaza, which saved them half a day of journey. Legolas followed his instincts and his connection with Arwen as they traveled thru the deserted landscape; he knew exactly where to go, he could feel it.
The sun was high on the sky when the group reached the site of the ambush. They found some of their fellow soldiers death on the ground, some of them were partially eaten by hyenas. They also found the body of a large wolf and some Uruk Hai soldiers. Legolas frantically looked for any sign of Arwen or Aragorn but they were nowhere to be found. Then he found a track leading into the forest and followed it with the rangers closely behind him; the track was clear and easy to follow so he began running until he saw a figure lying on the ground a few meters in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who it was.
"ARAGORN!"
He raced to his side and kneeled. At first he thought he was death but then he moved. Quickly but carefully he turned him around to face him. Aragorn was nearly death, covered with blood and mud; Narsil was still tightly held in his fist. Legolas saw the wounds on his leg and arm and knew that he had lost large amounts of blood. He talked to him softly and sweetly.
"Aragorn! Oh Aragorn I am so sorry."
Aragorn blinked twice and tried to focus the figure in front on him; when he finally recognized his voice and face and life came back to him. Grabbing Legolas by his vest he begged.
"Legolas! Arwen! You must help her. Please. Go!"
Legolas's heart skipped, Arwen was alive.
"My King please don't waste your energy, we will help you."
Aragorn smiled at him and his eyes shone from happiness.
"Legolas, it is you; you are back."
"Yes, it is I my King. I am so sorry for all the pain I have caused you."
"Forget about that Legolas. Now you must promise me you will find Arwen and save her."
"Yes, yes brother but I must help you first."
Legolas carefully embraced Aragorn and lifted him up from the ground; then he carried him towards the horses. But Aragorn began struggling to brake free.
"No Legolas, it is to late for me. Please leave me here and save Arwen. Put me down!"
Legolas obeyed and carefully lowered him to the ground, but he objected.
"Nonsense! You will be fine, let me take care of you. Please."
Aragorn gathered whatever was left of his strength and in a low but firm voice he retorted back.
"Listen to me Legolas! Listen like you have never listened before in your life. I am dying; I have lost too much blood; I am old and weak and you know I wont resist for much longer. Arwen has been made prisoner by horrid, perverted creatures and who knows what they are capable to do to her. Now you know as well as I do that she is alive and you are the only one who can save her. Now I beg you, I command you to go save her. If you ever felt any love or affection for me, please leave me here and go save her!"
Legolas sighed and with tears on his eyes he swallowed hard. Aragorn spoke again, this time his voice was trembling.
"Only one wish I have now that I'm dying."
Legolas brought his face closer to Aragorn's.
"What would your wish be my Lord?"
"I wished I could see her face one last time."
Legolas could not speak, for he had no words.
"Legolas promise me that you will save her."
"My Lord…"
"Promise me that once you had rescued her you won't leave her alone."
"I will not abandon her."
"Legolas, I want you to love her, I want you to make her happy."
"Aragorn?…"
"Legolas, I know you love her; I have known for a long time now. And I know that I took her from you."
"No Aragorn, you haven't taken anything from me."
"Oh Legolas! Destiny would have been much easier and happier for her if she had loved you instead of me. I took something that was beyond my reach, something that wasn't meant to be mine. Now I understand Elrond's concern, I should have never bound her to a mortal fate. Now I give her back to you and I give the pledge of immortality back to her; and I beg you to take her with you to west, to Valinor and wash away all the pain and sad, bitter memories."
"No Aragorn, it was destiny who joined you and I am sure that she would have rather be your wife for only a few moments than to live for all eternity without you. I do love her, more than my own life; but I saw and felt the deep, immense love she feels for you and knew that you were always meant to be together. I promise to save her, I promise to you, to my forefathers and my whole kin. And I promise you will see her again."
He took Aragorn's face between his hands and sweetly kissed him in the forehead and cheeks.
"Hang on my King, resist and I will bring her back to you."
Aragorn was now too exhausted to speak. Without further words Legolas picked him up and gently secured him to Antares's back. Then he spoke to the rangers.
"Take him back to Gondor, he must be healed."
"Sir, I don't think he'll make it all the way to Gondor. Maybe it would be better if we stayed here and helped you."
"You are disobeying a direct order soldier! I command you to take him to Gondor at once; I order you to ride like you have never rode before and if you have to put give your lives in order to save him then you will not hesitate, not even for a moment. UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes sir!"
The rangers immediately took of galloping. Legolas watched them leave until they were out of his sight.
"I will bring her back to you Aragorn, you just have to resist."
Turning around he strapped his sword to his back and began running following the clear track left by Arwen's captors. Nothing could stop him now.
…………………………………………………..
Well, I very proud of this chapter, I hope you like it as much as I do.
Thanks to the good people that reviewed, you guys are my muses. Special thanks to you, Roselyne for your highly inspirational reviews.
Much is still to come so stay tuned.
I KNOW YOU LOVE HER
The cloaked figure observed the scene from safe distance. One of the Uruk Hai soldiers came to his side and asked.
"What are your orders my Lord?"
He pondered for a few moments before answering.
"Kill the King, along with all the soldiers. But bring me the Queen, I want her alive and as unharmed as you can; you see I wish to have a little fun with her before this is over."
The soldier smiled and nodded. "As you wish, my Lord."
…………………………………………………………………………………………
The southern army reunited with his general in Tirol that same night. They lifted up a new camp and prepared to march to the south the next day; Legolas intended to go even further into the wild territories and conquer everything on his reach.
But no, he wasn't Legolas anymore; his mind was completely under the control of the shadow of darkness. Now his eyes were empty, his actions and words were cruel, his voice had changed. Only one desire dominated him, the desire to conquer, to fight and submit everything on middle earth; he would start with the south, then he'll reunite a great army and he'll go back and conquer Gondor and then Rohan, and then he would sweep the entire land from border to border, submitting everything to his will.
No, Legolas couldn't be found anymore; he was a prisoner in his own body, his will was subjugated to another's and he couldn't fight or resist it now. Or at least that was what the cloaked figure thought, but fate would prove him wrong for he didn't know about the power of true love. Love bigger than any spell, bigger than any evil plot, bigger than his hate.
Yes, Legolas was a prisoner, his true will and soul were chained inside his body; but even there, inside the dark prison his new master had locked him in; even there where he was supposed to remain locked up for the rest of eternity; he heard a cry for help, he felt Arwen's call for him and he responded to it, he woke up.
Whatever was controlling him couldn't break the bond between him and his only true love, it was still strong inside the deepest fibers of his heart; and so he fought, and broke his chains, overcoming his jailer and his true soul and will surfaced again, taking control over his body and actions.
He had been sitting on a log sharpening a sword, surrounded by his soldiers; but at the moment the struggle began inside of him he suddenly stood up breathing hard and sweating.
"Arwen!"
He looked around confused and finally realized where he was. Then he felt Arwen's cry for help again, he felt her fear and despair. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated in her presence, trying to locate where she was. Finally he opened his eyes and talked to the soldiers around him.
"Come with me now!"
He took off running towards the horses, followed shortly after by 5 rangers.
"My Lord. Where are we going?"
"Just follow me!"
"But sir. What about the rest of the army?"
"I don't care about the army. Now stop talking and follow me!"
The group reached where the horses were and Legolas got on Antares; he whispered to the horse and he immediately launched at full gallop towards the north. The soldiers still followed him, not knowing were they were going to or why.
……………………………………………………………
Aragorn swung his sword again, cutting off a head; then he grabbed it with both hands and thrust into a chest. Only 8 soldiers were left fighting by his side; Arwen stood behind him holding on to a sword, but she wouldn't dare to get involved in such a fierce battle, not even if Aragorn would allow her. Right then all she could do was pray; pray for Aragorn to hold on and for a miracle to happen.
Aragorn fought with unnatural strength, due to the necessity to protect his Queen. He held on for hours, resisting every attack coming his way; but the enemies were many. After hours of fierce fight one of the dunlan's wolves got to close to him and since he was busy trying to block one of the Uruk hai's attacks he couldn't fight it back. The beast closed its jaws around Aragorn's left leg, tearing flesh and bone; Aragorn let out a loud cry of pain and thrust his sword in the beast's neck, killing it instantaneously. But the damage was done and Aragorn fell to the ground, still holding on to Narsil. Arwen cried out desperate and kneeled beside him.
"ESTEL!"
She tried to stop the bleeding but it was useless, the wound was to deep and the bones were broken. She held Aragorn's hand and kissed it trying to comfort him. But lying on the ground they were vulnerable; an Uruk Hai saw his opportunity and swung his curved sword towards the royal couple. But Aragorn pushed Arwen to one side and blocked the blow with his sword; then he pushed the creature back and picking up a short dagger he stuck it deep in his attacker foot, giving him some time.
"Run Arwen! Try to get away from here!"
"NO! Estel!"
"Go Arwen! Save yourself."
But she wouldn't leave him, she couldn't. She held her sword with both hands and charged at the Uruk Hai close to her husband; she succeded, and amazingly enough could kill one of them, but then two other held her from behind. Then her sword was taken and the Uruk Hai began dragging her towards the forest.
"ARWEN!"
Aragorn tried to stand up and help her, but his leg wouldn't let him and enemies were still attacking him.
"ESTEL!"
One of the Uruk Hai covered her mouth with his large and dirty hand, muffling her cries for help and nearly suffocating her with its foul stench; she kicked and struggled to brake free but it was useless, the soldiers were too strong; all she could do was concentrate in breathing through the suffocating pressure of the filthy hand on her face. They kept dragging her into the forest, towards where the cloaked figure awaited them.
Aragorn kept on fighting; mad rage dominated each and every one of his movements; but he could barely fight for his own survival he couldn't do anything to help Arwen.
When her captors finally reached their leader Arwen could feel the same fear she felt the night they found Legolas in the waterfall; it was the same presence, and she confirmed it when the cloaked figure began laughing; it was the same laughter she heard that night, the same laughter that made her run away on that fatidic night. But now she couldn't run, she couldn't escape.
Suddenly the cloaked figure jerked back and fell from the wolf, landing on the ground while screaming as if terrified by something only he could feel. And that was the case for at that moment he could feel Legolas in the distance, fighting back and breaking free from his dominance; he had lost control over him and now he could feel the enraged elf coming his way, he was coming to hunt him. Certainly this wasn't in any of his plans. The dark presence stood back up and with trembling voice began shouting orders to the Uruk Hai.
"We are leaving now! Back to the cave!"
"But my Lord, we haven't killed the King"
"I don't care about him, leave him to the hyenas!"
"What about the Queen?"
"Bring her. I shall pour my revenge on her"
And with that all the Uruk Hai got on the wolves and made their way deep into the forest, following their master and leaving behind the very wounded Aragorn.
Aragorn tried desperately to follow them but all his efforts were useless and only complicated his already delicate state. Ignoring the intense pain he crawled behind the fleeing horde and one of the Uruk Hai threw a javelin at him, which thrust one of his arms, pining him to the ground. He cried from the pain and from despair; he had lost her; he had lost his Queen.
He was now alone; only one soldier remained alive and was already in death agony. Aragorn grabbed the javelin stuck in his arm and pulled hard to brake free. The pain almost caused him to faint but he resisted and slowly crawled towards the agonizing soldier.
"Soldier stand up! You need to help me!"
But the soldier couldn't respond, he drew short, sharp and painful breathes and his mouth and nose were bleeding profusely.
"This is an order soldier! Don't die! Please don't die."
Aragorn grabbed the soldier and shook him, trying to bring him back to life; but the poor man was already death. Aragorn cried out in desperation and dismay, everything was lost to him, there was no hope left.
………………………………………………
Legolas pushed his horse to the very limits of his capacity. He and their group rode all night at full gallop. Knowing the territory so well was an advantage for them and they took a shortcut a little bit west from the road to Friaza, which saved them half a day of journey. Legolas followed his instincts and his connection with Arwen as they traveled thru the deserted landscape; he knew exactly where to go, he could feel it.
The sun was high on the sky when the group reached the site of the ambush. They found some of their fellow soldiers death on the ground, some of them were partially eaten by hyenas. They also found the body of a large wolf and some Uruk Hai soldiers. Legolas frantically looked for any sign of Arwen or Aragorn but they were nowhere to be found. Then he found a track leading into the forest and followed it with the rangers closely behind him; the track was clear and easy to follow so he began running until he saw a figure lying on the ground a few meters in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who it was.
"ARAGORN!"
He raced to his side and kneeled. At first he thought he was death but then he moved. Quickly but carefully he turned him around to face him. Aragorn was nearly death, covered with blood and mud; Narsil was still tightly held in his fist. Legolas saw the wounds on his leg and arm and knew that he had lost large amounts of blood. He talked to him softly and sweetly.
"Aragorn! Oh Aragorn I am so sorry."
Aragorn blinked twice and tried to focus the figure in front on him; when he finally recognized his voice and face and life came back to him. Grabbing Legolas by his vest he begged.
"Legolas! Arwen! You must help her. Please. Go!"
Legolas's heart skipped, Arwen was alive.
"My King please don't waste your energy, we will help you."
Aragorn smiled at him and his eyes shone from happiness.
"Legolas, it is you; you are back."
"Yes, it is I my King. I am so sorry for all the pain I have caused you."
"Forget about that Legolas. Now you must promise me you will find Arwen and save her."
"Yes, yes brother but I must help you first."
Legolas carefully embraced Aragorn and lifted him up from the ground; then he carried him towards the horses. But Aragorn began struggling to brake free.
"No Legolas, it is to late for me. Please leave me here and save Arwen. Put me down!"
Legolas obeyed and carefully lowered him to the ground, but he objected.
"Nonsense! You will be fine, let me take care of you. Please."
Aragorn gathered whatever was left of his strength and in a low but firm voice he retorted back.
"Listen to me Legolas! Listen like you have never listened before in your life. I am dying; I have lost too much blood; I am old and weak and you know I wont resist for much longer. Arwen has been made prisoner by horrid, perverted creatures and who knows what they are capable to do to her. Now you know as well as I do that she is alive and you are the only one who can save her. Now I beg you, I command you to go save her. If you ever felt any love or affection for me, please leave me here and go save her!"
Legolas sighed and with tears on his eyes he swallowed hard. Aragorn spoke again, this time his voice was trembling.
"Only one wish I have now that I'm dying."
Legolas brought his face closer to Aragorn's.
"What would your wish be my Lord?"
"I wished I could see her face one last time."
Legolas could not speak, for he had no words.
"Legolas promise me that you will save her."
"My Lord…"
"Promise me that once you had rescued her you won't leave her alone."
"I will not abandon her."
"Legolas, I want you to love her, I want you to make her happy."
"Aragorn?…"
"Legolas, I know you love her; I have known for a long time now. And I know that I took her from you."
"No Aragorn, you haven't taken anything from me."
"Oh Legolas! Destiny would have been much easier and happier for her if she had loved you instead of me. I took something that was beyond my reach, something that wasn't meant to be mine. Now I understand Elrond's concern, I should have never bound her to a mortal fate. Now I give her back to you and I give the pledge of immortality back to her; and I beg you to take her with you to west, to Valinor and wash away all the pain and sad, bitter memories."
"No Aragorn, it was destiny who joined you and I am sure that she would have rather be your wife for only a few moments than to live for all eternity without you. I do love her, more than my own life; but I saw and felt the deep, immense love she feels for you and knew that you were always meant to be together. I promise to save her, I promise to you, to my forefathers and my whole kin. And I promise you will see her again."
He took Aragorn's face between his hands and sweetly kissed him in the forehead and cheeks.
"Hang on my King, resist and I will bring her back to you."
Aragorn was now too exhausted to speak. Without further words Legolas picked him up and gently secured him to Antares's back. Then he spoke to the rangers.
"Take him back to Gondor, he must be healed."
"Sir, I don't think he'll make it all the way to Gondor. Maybe it would be better if we stayed here and helped you."
"You are disobeying a direct order soldier! I command you to take him to Gondor at once; I order you to ride like you have never rode before and if you have to put give your lives in order to save him then you will not hesitate, not even for a moment. UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes sir!"
The rangers immediately took of galloping. Legolas watched them leave until they were out of his sight.
"I will bring her back to you Aragorn, you just have to resist."
Turning around he strapped his sword to his back and began running following the clear track left by Arwen's captors. Nothing could stop him now.
…………………………………………………..
Well, I very proud of this chapter, I hope you like it as much as I do.
Thanks to the good people that reviewed, you guys are my muses. Special thanks to you, Roselyne for your highly inspirational reviews.
Much is still to come so stay tuned.